Just Our Luck
by MyMetaTwin
Summary: A brush with death too close even for the Doctor's liking leads him to make the most important decision of his life.
1. Chapter 1

The doors to the TARDIS burst open and the Doctor gave Rose a hard shove inside, slamming the doors closed behind him as they both collapsed to the metal grating. He scrambled across the floor to where she was laying, trying to catch her breath.

"Talk to me!" he cried, giving her a harder shake than he'd intended. "Say something!"

His hands trembled and he could feel his hearts beating inside his mouth. He'd never been so frightened. She cupped his cheek and smiled at him. "I am so sorry my hair color was so offensive to their gods. Who knew deities had such an aversion to peroxide?"

He glared at her and pushed the sleeve of her T-shirt out of the way so he could get a better look at her shoulder. The laser blast had torn through the flesh but missed the bone, and cauterized the wound on its way through her. If it had gone a few inches to the left it would have passed through her chest cavity, severing the aorta.

The room started spinning. There was no way he could have stopped that shot from killing her. It was pure, dumb luck that the guillotine had jammed, and it was pure luck that the shot had hit her shoulder. He should have lost her, but miraculously, he hadn't

Mindful of her injury, he pulled her to him and buried his face against her neck, nearly sobbing with relief when her arms rose up and around his body. He could feel the steady beat of her pulse against his lips

"No more," he whispered, tears slipping down his face and onto her neck. He closed his eyes and squeezed her as tightly as he could without hurting her. He had taken the last gamble with Rose Tyler's life that he was ever going to take.

Jackie Tyler's morning workout had been interrupted three times already; first, the telephone man called to see if her telephone was working again ("Well, obviously, if you're talkin' to me!"); secondly, Mrs. Simms from down the hall wanted to know if she'd seen her missing cat; and the third interruption was a phone call that began with the sound of a ship's horn and a recorded voice congratulating her for something she'd won that she didn't stay on the phone long enough to find out what it was. When she heard the soft knock at her door, she shut the television off with an emphatic click of the remote.

"How'm I supposed to sweat to the oldies when I can't dance long enough to break a sweat?" she muttered as she slid off the chain and opened the door. She was so surprised at the sight of the Doctor standing at her door, rubbing the back of his neck and looking for all the world like he'd just broken something valuable of hers that she screamed.

The Doctor yelped at the same time and turned his head away, squinting. "Oh, Jackie. Bad choice. Please, please go put on your dressing gown...or several more layers of clothes. I can't talk to you with that much leopard print glaring back at me."

"Lovely to see you too, Doctor," Jackie snapped as she hurried off to her bedroom. She slipped into her dressing gown and tied it shut, pushing away the fleeting memory of the first time she'd met the Doctor. In her dressing gown. When she'd thought anything could happen and he'd said no.

"Where's Rose?" she asked, looking past him into the hallway. Immediately her heart began to hammer in her chest. "Has something happened? Is she all right? Where is she?"

"Easy, now," the Doctor said, clearing his throat. "She's fine. She's having a coffee with Shareen. I wanted to talk to you."

Jackie eyed him with suspicion. "Why?"

"I," the Doctor began, then stopped to look at something on the ceiling. He sighed and opened his mouth several times, as if he'd forgotten how to speak.

"How about I make some tea?" Jackie asked. She went into the kitchen and started the kettle before he could answer her. He opened the refrigerator door, retrieved the jar of marmalade, and jabbed two fingers in. He stuck the helping into his mouth as he continued to pace around the kitchen. She watched him move the dirty dishes around in the sink as if he'd never seen anything like them before, check the date on her bread only to toss it back onto the countertop. Finally he came to the rack of mugs and took one down that was from when Rose was a little girl. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head again like he was trying to increase the circulation to his brain.

"Look'a this!" he said, his voice about an octave higher than usual. "It's a little elephant nose for the handle. Isn't that clever? What won't they think of next?" He sighed, set the mug down and missed the counter. It broke into three pieces.

And that's when Jackie knew.

He was crouched on the ground, scooping up the pieces of broken mug and calling himself all manner of names. Jackie crouched beside him and rested her hands on top of his to stop him. She looked into his eyes; really looked, for possibly the first time since she'd met him, and was surprised by the depth and the gentleness she found there.

"Tell me what's on your mind, swee'heart," she urged, patting his hand. The mighty Time Lord sat down on the floor and sighed. Those couldn't be tears starting to form in his eyes.

"I think," he began, then stopped. "You see, Jackie..." He sighed and pulled out the sonic screwdriver to fix the mug, giving himself a few minutes to gather his thoughts. He handed the mug back to her, good as new. "There."

Jackie took the mug and sat down on the floor beside him. "Is it about Rose, Doctor?" she asked.

He chuckled, both hands flying to the back of his head. Jackie tried to smother the knowing smile spreading across her face.

"Something you want to tell me. Or ask me?" she prodded. The kettle began to whistle. She reached up and shut the stove off, but did not get up off the floor.

"There is," he said at last. He leaned his head back against her lower cabinets and blew out his excess air. "Never thought I'd be doing this."

"Certainly not sitting on my linoleum," she added. She put her hand on his leg. "Just start talking, like I'm not even here."

"I love her," he blurted. The raw honesty and the strength with which he said it took Jackie's breath away. He looked at her, waiting, gauging the response in her eyes.

She smiled at him. "I know that, you twit," she said. "But there's more?"

"A lot more," he said. "I've made a decision. We're going to stop traveling and settle down. I...want...to settle down."

"On Earth?" Jackie asked. She wrestled down the hopeful tone in her voice as much as she could.

"Oh, closer than that," the Doctor said, reaching out to take Jackie's hands. "How does London sound? Why do I suddenly feel like I'm proposing to you instead of your daughter?"

"Proposin'!" Jackie squealed, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss on the mouth. "I can't believe it! But, you're...you know...not human. How's that gonna work?"

The Doctor's mouth set in a hard line. "I'm not human now. But in one hour, I will be. If you tell me that you would accept me as a son-in-law, that you would maybe even help me understand how to take care of your daughter in the proper human fashion, I am going to go down to the TARDIS and commence a procedure that will rewrite my biology and make me completely human."

Jackie gasped. "How can you do that?"

He smiled a little. "Quite painfully. But, for Rose, I would endure it ten times over. I've lived over nine hundred years, and I have never felt anything close to what I feel for her. And a thousand lifetimes following this one couldn't compare to one mayfly flicker of existence with her."

"Are you gonna..." Jackie paused, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "Is it gonna make you look as old as you are?"

He laughed, looking at the floor. "No, I'm not going to get all withered and creepy looking, don't worry. I'll be me, just as I am. But human."

Jackie got up and made two mugs of tea, making the Doctor's sickly sweet, the way he liked it. She sat back down on the floor and handed a mug to him. "Rose doesn't know, does she?" Jackie asked."Not yet," he said, rolling his eyes. "I don't think I'm going to tell her until after I've done it."

Jackie took a long drink of her tea and studied the Doctor. "You're really something else, you know. When you first came into our lives, I hated you. You stole my daughter away from me. Took her all over the galaxy, and I was sure that one day I would just stop gettin' calls. No explanation, no nothing. But I'd know. I was ready for it. You know what's funny? I'm completely unprepared for how to deal with this."

"How to deal with what?" the Doctor asked.

She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "How to deal with you, settled down. I get the feeling you're going to drive me to drink."

"So you're saying yes?" he asked.

"Oh, come on now," Jackie said. "You're not even human yet, don't start getting thick on me now."

The Doctor finished his tea with almost comical slowness, sitting on the stained linoleum of Jackie Tyler's kitchen floor. His last cup of tea as a Time Lord. He wondered if food would taste differently with a human mouth and muted human taste buds. Hundreds of years; dozens of human lifetimes spent in adventures the likes of which he would never see again. He took the last drink of tea with more than a little sadness. It had not escaped him that he was effectively committing suicide by doing this. To age, wither and die, heroism lost in the banality of day to day human life.

He thought of Rose, and his hearts warmed; one of them for the last time. He stood up and set the mug in the sink. Jackie got to her feet as well and studied his face.

"I...would it be all right if I went with you?" she asked. "Doesn't seem like something you should have to do alone. Maybe I could hold your hand or somethin'."

He smiled. "I'd be glad of the company."

She went to her bedroom to change into something a little less strange, and when she was ready she found him standing by the door. He grinned at her and offered her his hand. She took it, and understood almost immediately why Rose was so keen on holding his hand. His skin was cool and his grip was firm and comforting as they walked down the stairs together in silence. When they got to the TARDIS, she felt him hesitate.

"You don't have to do it, you know," Jackie said. She couldn't believe she was hearing herself. "You sure you don't want to talk to Rose first?"

"If I wait, I'll lose my nerve," he said. "Better to just do it." He opened the doors to the TARDIS and led her inside, still holding her hand. He was shaking.

He started punching buttons and flipping levers on the console, and suddenly a metal thing that looked like a cross between a crown and an elaborate pair of headphones dropped from the ceiling, attached to a series of wires. He grabbed the device and changed some settings on it, popping a little metal disc out of the side. He brought it over to Jackie and showed it to her. It was a watch, its surface engraved with an elaborate, circular design.

"Is that a fob watch?" Jackie asked. "Course it is."

"It's a bit more than a watch," the Doctor said. "This device is called a Chameleon Arch. It's supposed to rewrite my biology from Time Lord to human, wipe my memories and replace them with a personality and memories created by the TARDIS to fit the current environment. Think of it as the most elaborate disguise you've ever seen. It takes all that Time Lord DNA and my memories and personality and stores them in the fob watch. If I were to open the watch, it would turn me back. Well, I've disabled the mental part of the device, so it's going to simply change me physically into a human. Presumably it will still store my Time Lord DNA in the fob watch. So, when this is over, I want you to get rid of this, and never tell me what you did with it."

Jackie nodded. "Whatever you want, swee'heart."

He popped the watch back into the headphone thing and took one last lap around the console. He looked around the TARDIS, passing his hand over one of the struts like it was the skin of an old friend, and then looked at Jackie with surprise. "I almost forgot!" he cried. "Would you like to see it now, or do you want to be surprised?"

Jackie smirked. "How can I know the answer to that before I know what you're talking about?"

"Of course!" he said. "Let me show you." He ran into the hallway and disappeared into one of the rooms. Jackie heard a clatter of things being thrown around before the Doctor reappeared, beaming. Sitting on his palm was a small, velvet-covered box.

"Oh!" Jackie cried, clapping her hand over her mouth. "Is it?"

"The setting is from the Earth, circa 1650. The diamond is from Rexatheracol, which is entirely too close to Raxacoracofallapatorious for its own good. Almost got my...manliness...removed getting the diamond. Would you like to see it?"

Jackie eyed the box for a moment. "As much as I want to, and I'm certain it's breathtaking, it'd feel like cheatin' if Rose didn't get to see it first. I'm sure it's beautiful." She paused and looked at him. "Not as beautiful as what you're about to do for her, though."

He sighed, raising his eyebrows. "Best to have it done, while I've still got the spine to do it. Now, it's going to be painful, and I'm probably going to scream, so don't be afraid. It won't last long."

"What can I do to make you more comfortable?" Jackie asked, coming to his side as he sat down in the jump seat and looked the device over once more. She gave his shoulders a little squeeze and rested her hands on his back. She didn't know what else to do.

He clamped it down on his head and locked it into place, wincing, then smiled at her. "I'm just glad you're here so I'm not alone." Without another word, he took a breath, closed his eyes, and flipped a switch on the side of the device.

The screaming went on for nearly ten minutes.


	2. Chapter 2

"Yeah, I'll see ya," Rose called back to Shareen, waving as her friend drove away. She put her hands in the pockets of her jacket and started walking towards the TARDIS, which was waiting at the other end of the alley behind the Estate. She'd thought it was odd that the Doctor had wanted to talk to her mother without her there, but she hadn't pressed. He had been strange ever since their adventure on the planet Zatharenasomethingorother.

Sure, they had been in a tight spot what with her almost getting her head chopped off, but she didn't understand why that particular scrape had left the Doctor so distant and strange. It wasn't as if he hadn't been hurt in the escape. As far as she could tell (not that he would let her get very close to find out for certain), he'd been hurt worse than she had. He had limped around the control room for nearly a week, which was a ridiculous amount of time for someone who didn't get injured that easily. He had also left a roll of tape and a packet of gauze pads out lying out on one of the counters in the infirmary a few days after their escape, though her injuries had never required dressing.

And then there was the change in the way they traveled. He had taken her to bazaars and concerts and to museums, remote planets and all sorts of beautiful, safe places with absolutely no threat of danger. He even refused to let her visit the alien zoo on the leisure planet of Suthka until she agreed not to leave the tram that drove through the park. She didn't know what exactly had turned him into such an old nanny, but she was really starting to miss the running.

The last straw had come the day before. He had taken her to Earth, the year 2863, and dropped her off for the day at a spa with a full credit stick and no further explanation. She was not accustomed to being dumped off at the beauty parlor like a good little wifey while the Doctor went adventuring alone in the TARDIS, so when he came back to pick her up, she'd stormed into the TARDIS, gone straight into the pool and jumped in, washing off all the spa's hard work.

"What are you doing?" he'd asked with a laugh as she swam to the side and climbed out. Her clothes sagged off her and she'd lost a shoe in the water, but she just stood there, glaring at him, arms folded across her chest.

"I am not one of those kinds of girls," Rose said. "That's the one and only time you get to just leave me at the spa while you go and have fun. You got it?"

His mouth fell open. "What are you talking about? We've gone to the spa hundreds of times. You love it!"

"Yeah, you and me together! That's different – that's romantic. You ditchin' me so you can have an adventure on your own is not how we do things!"

"You think that's what I was doing?" he'd snapped, stalking around the edge of the pool to stand in front of her. "You don't even know what I was doing. I couldn't have you going along. What would be the point in _that_?"

"Oh!" Rose cried, leaning back with a laugh. "Okay, well if that's how you feel about things, then maybe you should just take me home. We haven't done anything in days, anyway!"

"Because I don't want something to happen to you!" he shouted. His voice had resonated off the tile in the pool room with a metallic ring.

He'd looked like he had wanted to say more to her, but he just gave her a look of what she could only interpret as disgust, then jumped into the pool in his clothes to retrieve her shoe. He climbed out and handed it to her and she'd taken it without a word to stomp off to her room. Her exit would have been far more dramatic and poignant if she hadn't slipped on the wet tile floor and fallen into the doorway on her way out.

And now he'd brought her home and asked to talk to her mother. Alone.

She had made up her mind while she'd been with Shareen; she was going to apologize to him, even though she didn't think she'd done anything wrong. She knew he wasn't going to admit that he'd done anything wrong, so she was going to have to be the bigger person. She took it as a good sign that the TARDIS was still there when she got back; she'd been a little afraid that he might have left her behind, possibly for good, while she was off with her friend. He was probably back in the TARDIS by now. He couldn't possibly stand spending all that much time with her mother alone.

As she neared the TARDIS she thought she saw a light flickering inside. Someone on the Estate was watching a horror movie with their volume all the way up. Judging by the sound of the screaming, somebody was having a rough night.

When she realized the sound was coming from inside the TARDIS, coming from what sounded like the Doctor, she panicked. She ran to the doors, banging on them and shouting for him, but the screaming just went on and on. She rattled the handles, but the doors wouldn't budge.

"Doctor!" She threw her shoulder against the doors, knowing full well the TARDIS could stand up to a lot more than she was able to dish out. She battered the doors with her hands, nearly hysterical with fear for what was happening inside, when she finally remembered her key. It was on a string around her neck, and she was so used to its presence that she'd forgotten it was even there. She dug it out from under her shirt and her jacket and her shaking hands tried to get the key inside the door.

And suddenly the doors opened, and Rose found herself face to face with her mother. The TARDIS lights were flickering behind her and the Doctor's screams were twice as loud as they'd been a moment before. Her mother's face was grim, streaked with tears.

"You're not goin' in there," Jackie said, pushing Rose away from the doors while she shut them behind her, muffling but not eliminating the sound of the Doctor's tortured agony inside the ship.

"What's going on?" Rose shouted, trying to wrestle her way past her mother. "What's happening to him? What did you do? Mum, please! Let me help him!"

"You're goin' upstairs with me to wait," Jackie said with a sniff. The calm in her voice did nothing to settle Rose down. Was he ever going to stop screaming?

"Wait for what?" Rose cried as Jackie turned her bodily and pushed her towards the stairs to the flat. "He could be dying!"

"He's not dying," Jackie said, patting Rose on the back. She kept looking back at the TARDIS with such sadness on her face it made Rose feel like she was going to throw up. Rose relented, though she didn't know why she did, and went with her mum up to the flat. Once inside, Jackie began pacing around, straightening things she hadn't bothered to straighten in years.

"What's going on?" Rose shouted again. She was crying, partly out of frustration but mostly out of fear.

"Just sit down!" Jackie snapped, her face softening as soon as the words left her mouth. "It'll be over soon."

* * *

><p>Rose had an untouched mug of cold tea in her hands, and the television was on with the volume low as she and her mother sat together on the couch, both staring in the direction of the television, neither actually seeing what was on the screen. From time to time they each glanced at the door.<p>

Rose jumped with a gasp when she heard someone trying the knob, and heard what sounded like a palm hitting the door.

"Almost an hour exactly," Jackie said as she and Rose got up from the couch at the same time. The door slammed open against the wall and the Doctor stood in the doorway. He was ghastly pale, his hair standing almost straight up, his tie hanging loose and twisted around his neck. He was wearing only his pinstriped pants and his light blue oxford, which was untucked on one side. He was clutching the doorframe with one hand while the other arm hung limp at his side. His eyes were dark and dull.

Rose started to go to him, but Jackie pushed past her and hugged him tightly, taking his weight as he slumped against her. She was patting his back and smoothing his hair just like she did when she would comfort Rose when she was a little girl. When she gave him a kiss on the side of his head, Rose felt a stab of ludicrous jealousy.

"I'm so sorry I had to leave you," Jackie whispered. The Doctor lifted his arms with considerable effort and put them around Jackie's waist. He buried his face in her shoulder and Rose's jealousy amplified a thousand fold.

"It's all right," he murmured into her shoulder. "I didn't want her to see me like that. Besides, I lost consciousness after the first ten minutes or so."

When Jackie finally let him go, he lifted his head and smiled at Rose. "Hello," His voice was raw and it looked like the only thing keeping him from falling over was sheer force of will. Rose ran to him and they embraced. He felt like lead in her arms, and when she felt the heat coming from his body, she pulled away from him in fear.

"What's...why are you so hot? I mean, hot for you? You're burning up…for you! Do you have a fever?" She asked, putting her hand to his forehead.

"No. Rose, please...you need to listen," he said. "I need to tell you something."

"Come sit down," she said, pulling him over to the couch. She saw him exchange a look with Jackie, and she felt another stupid twinge of jealousy. She felt his forehead and his warm cheeks and then pressed two fingers to the side of his neck. He closed his eyes and looked almost pained as horrified realization spread over Rose's face.

"Oh my God - your _hearts_! There's only one heartbeat! What happened? We've got to get you back to the TARDIS." she pulled on his hands to get him to his feet but he didn't budge.

"Please, just listen," he tried again. "I have something to tell you."

"But your hearts! Why do you only have one heartbeat? You're sick. You could be dying." She stood up and sat back down several times, hands fluttering as she looked to her mother for help.

"I only have one heartbeat because I only have one heart," he answered at last.

Slapping her across the face wouldn't have brought Rose to a more abrupt halt. "What did you say?" she asked after a moment.

"I only have one heart," he repeated. "Because I'm human now."

Rose heard a strange, strangled squeak coming from somewhere in the room. It took her several seconds to realize it was coming from herself. "You're what?" she asked.

The Doctor sighed. "This is going to be a very long conversation if I have to say everything twice."

"He made himself human for you," Jackie said, sitting on the couch next to the Doctor. She put her hands on his shoulders. "Isn't that just the most wonderful thing? It's like a fairy tale. You may have found the most wonderful man in the whole universe. I can't wait to call Babs and Cheryl and tell them all about it."

"Mum," Rose whined, then turned her attention back to the Doctor. "I don't understand. How can you be human?"

"There's this thing on the TARDIS," Jackie began. "He put it on his head and-"

"Would you let him answer for himself?" Rose snapped. Jackie frowned and got up from the couch to bustle in the kitchen. Rose scooted closer to the Doctor and took his warm hands in her own. "Please just explain it to me."

He sighed again. The sigh turned into a sprawling, throaty yawn at the last second and the Doctor looked horrified. "What was _that_? Ape sounds. Blimey, I really am human now. Rose, you would not believe how _exhausted _I am. That took a lot out of me. Literally." He tried to smile, but the look on her face stopped it from growing to its usual strength. "I'm not going to get to sleep until I explain, am I?"

"Not a wink," she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

He sighed again, his shoulders sagging. "When we were on Zatharenafolconorrae, and you were being led to the guillotine, and I couldn't stop what was happening, I vowed that if I could find some way to get you out of this, I would never put you in danger again. No sooner had I said it to myself than the guillotine jammed and I was able to get away to free you, and off we went. Of course, I threw that whole stupid vow right out the moment we were off and running. But then you got shot, and for a few minutes I thought you were dead, or dying, and I knew that I couldn't take one more risk with your life, ever again.

"But, I didn't want to leave you, either. I've made the decision that time and space and the universe did fine without me before I came along, and it will do fine without me now. There's a device on the TARDIS called a Chameleon Arch. It's supposed to be used so a Time Lord can disguise themselves as human in a situation when they might be subjected to biological methods of detection. Everything that made me a Time Lord is stored in this fob watch," he said, taking the watch out of his pocket to show her. Rose reached for it, but he kept hold of it. "Don't open it, or I'll have to go and do it again. Which reminds me." He took the sonic out of his other pocket and soniced the watch. When he was done, he tossed it to Rose. Try as she might, she couldn't open it. He took it back and got up, steadying himself on the furniture as he crossed the room to the kitchen. He grabbed Jackie's hand and pressed the watch into her palm.

"Get rid of it," he said, and then went back to sit with Rose. "There. Now, there's no going back, and no temptation to try. I'm human – one heart, two kidneys, sub-par lungs. And I'm all yours."

"You just decided all of that without talking to me?" she asked softly.

The Doctor scoffed. "I'm not going to _consult_ you on something as serious as this. This was a decision about my own existence."

He had not been expecting her to slap him across the face. His new muscle tone was not what it had once been and the slap slung him sideways with a grunt. He had to catch himself on the arm of the chair, and his mouth fell open when he felt the first flare of truly human pain in his cheek.

"What in the world did you do that for?" he cried, putting his hand over the injured spot.

"You can't just go _turnin' into something else_ without talking to me first!" Rose shouted.

"What would you have said?" he shouted back, getting to his feet to match her. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so easily angered. Humans and their short fuses.

"I would have said don't do it!" She stepped closer to him, sticking her finger in his face. "I would have said don't throw your whole life away!"

"And I would have told you you're a daft cow and you obviously cannot comprehend how much I love you!" he bellowed, the last of his voice giving way with the effort. Rose stood there with her mouth hanging open. The Doctor saw the television out of the corner of his eye; a duo of pink and yellow pandas were dancing down the street. He smiled at the juxtaposition, which only served to rankle Rose further. Her mouth caved in to a puckered scowl, her eyes flashing.

Jackie cleared her throat from the kitchen. He looked back at her and she shook her head.

"Apparently that was rude," he said back to Rose. "I'm going to actually have to pay attention to human social mores now, aren't I?"

Rose looked at him as if she'd never seen him before in her life. "I don't care what you do," she said softly before she ran out of the flat.


	3. Chapter 3

Why she ran straight for the TARDIS she didn't know, but it was the only place that felt like home any more. She knew he would come running after her, knew he would look in the TARDIS first and find her straight away, but Rose felt so drawn to the welcoming doors of her beloved blue box that she couldn't help but run inside to her room to curl up on her bed. The bedclothes were warm and her pillows smelled like him – him the way she'd known him before he'd gone and done this stupid thing – and she buried her face in one and began to cry.

She couldn't begin to put into words what she was feeling; all she knew was that it was too much for her to bear without tears, and she couldn't spend another second looking at him the way he was now in the flat; broken and tired, the light gone from his eyes. After the first wave of sobs began to subside, she rolled over to the edge of her bed and looked at the picture on her nightstand. It was of the two of them, taken long before Zatharenafolconorrae. There were places in touristy parts of London where you could dress in Victorian clothes and have a sepia-toned picture taken for a lark, but this was an honest-to-goodness old fashioned, hand-tinted photo of the two of them together, taken in the real 1915. Rose had on a beaded blue dress with an empire waist, her hair in a gravity-defying pile at the back of her head as she sat on a flowered settee, looking dreamily towards the window. The Doctor was in a smart Edwardian suit, complete with snazzy bow tie, and he was standing behind her, looking quite serious, one hand resting on her shoulder. She had put her hand over his at the last second, scandalizing the photographer but giving Rose her most favorite picture of all time.

Even with the falsely stern expression on his face, there was a wicked shine to his eyes that she lived to see. When she saw that gleam in his eyes, she knew trouble was coming, and that meant that everything was all right. If she were being honest with herself, she hadn't seen that gleam in weeks.

And now he'd gone and done this to himself. She clutched the photo to her chest and cried even harder. So hard, in fact, that she didn't realize the Doctor had come not only into the TARDIS but also into her room until she felt his weight on the mattress and his hand on her back.

"Rose," he sang, rubbing little circles on her back as she rocked with sobs. "Please don't cry. I'm still the same. Still me. Just…human."

"You could have told me," she gasped. "You could have said something, so we could have talked about it."

"I didn't want you to try to tell me no," he said.

"Why did you do it?" she wailed, curling up to rest her head in his lap. He still smelled the same, and his hand felt the same on her back as it ever had, except for being warmer than she was used to. She couldn't get the echo of his tormented screaming out of her head. He said he'd lost consciousness after the first ten minutes or so, and according to her mother it had gone on for nearly an hour. There was absolutely no way on the face of the Earth that he would have done that just for her. She couldn't wrap her mind around the scope of something like that. Somehow it would have been easier to accept if he had simply given his life for her – a split-second decision to step in front of a bullet or drink a draught of poison meant for her. But for him to consciously walk into the TARDIS and calmly trade in his entire existence for another one just for her was entirely too much to even think about, let alone accept.

He sighed and switched from her back to her hair. "You'd think I was barmy if I told you."

"I already think that," Rose said. She closed her eyes and snuggled closer to him. "Please tell me."

"Because some day there isn't going to be any more Rose Tyler, but there would still be me. And I've already lost everything that I can bear to lose in this existence. You are the last of everything that has ever mattered to me, and when you go, there will be nothing left. The last adventure I ever want to have is the one we'll have together. If you'll have me, now that I'm nothing special."

Rose turned so she was looking up at him. "Of course I'll have you. My Doctor." She reached up and put her hand on his face. His cheeks were flushed and the tears in his eyes spilled warmly onto her fingertips. His eyes were tight and heavy-lidded and his breathing was slow and somewhat labored. Exhausted, having just ripped himself apart and put himself back together as a new species, and yet here he was, consoling her. Putting her first.

"I'll always belong to you," he said, turning so he could kiss her fingers. "Can you answer me one question, though?"

She sniffed again. "Yeah."

"Are you upset because I'm human now, or are you upset because I did it without talking to you first? Because I'm beginning to worry that you don't want me now that I'm human."

"Oh!" she cried, sitting up so she could look deeply into his tired eyes. "I'm upset because you didn't tell me. Of course I want you. I love you! But you can't do this to me. If we're gonna be together, you can't make huge decisions without talking to me about it first."

He nodded. "I apologize. I don't apologize for doing what I did, but I apologize for not…talking to you first. It's going to be hard to get used to, that. But I will do my best from here out. You have to understand that I've been human for all of an hour and fifteen minutes, and I'm bound to make a few more mistakes before I'm as good at being a human as I was at being a Time Lord. And if my track record as a Time Lord says anything about what kind of man I'll be once I get this down, I am going to be a brilliant human."

"With the ego of an ancient alien," she said with a sigh. "This is gonna be very interesting."

"Would it be possible for us to get some sleep now? I can honestly say I've never been this tired in my life." He yawned again. "That is so _weird_ – it just sort of happens, doesn't it? That may be the hardest thing to get used to."

"Come here," Rose said. "There's only one thing that will make it stop." She pulled him down to the bed to lie beside her. He snuggled up next to her as tightly as he could and he was asleep within minutes. Rose kissed his cheek and settled her head down on his shoulder and followed shortly afterward.

* * *

><p>Jackie had helped the Doctor down the stairs and into the TARDIS. Now she had been waiting nearly an hour in the control room for them to come out again. She was sitting in the jump seat when she saw a little table nearby that she swore had not been there before. There was a glass of wine and a few pieces of Milk Tray on a little plate beside the glass.<p>

"That for me?" Jackie asked the emptiness. She looked around for the Doctor or Rose, but they were still in Rose's room. She shrugged and hopped off the seat, helping herself to the candy – all her favorites, mind – and the wine. When she'd finished, the lights in the control room dimmed and the lights in the hallway grew brighter by fractions until Jackie went down the hallway, following the lights until they led her to a room at the end of the hallway. The door slid open and Jackie gasped at the sight of a sprawling sunken bathtub filled with suds. A towel, dressing gown and pyjamas were laid out on a bench near the tub, with another glass of wine sitting near the water's edge. Rose had mentioned that sometimes the TARDIS did things for the passengers on the ship, but Jackie hadn't understood what her daughter had meant until now.

Jackie looked at the ceiling. "You thanking me for sitting with him?" she asked. The lights in the bathroom dimmed and Il Divo began playing softly over the speakers.

She grinned. "I guess you are." She didn't waste time getting into the tub and was thrilled to find that there were little jets of water under the surface. She closed her eyes and put her head back and had a nice, lovely soak. The water, she noticed, never cooled to an uncomfortable temperature like it did when she took a bath in the flat, and when she was done she followed the lights to another room on the ship with an enormous bed and very soft sheets. Il Divo followed her down the hallway and she fell asleep feeling very much like she imagined the Queen felt every night when she went to bed.

* * *

><p>The next morning Rose woke to find the Doctor lying on his side, head propped up on one hand, smiling down at her. His eyes looked as bright as they always had, and for a moment she'd forgotten what had happened the night before.<p>

"Hello," he said. The lingering rawness in his throat reminded her well enough.

"How did you sleep?" she asked, stretching.

"Hard," he answered. "Like a regular person, I believe. No wonder you do it so much." He leaned forward and gave her a kiss.

She smiled into the kiss. "Good morning. So, today we start a whole new adventure."

"Not just yet," he said. "There's one more thing that has to get taken care of first." He held up one finger and climbed out of bed and, after a long stretch and another yawn that made him laugh with exasperation at himself, he dashed out of the bedroom and into the hallway. He came back several minutes later, looking a little less enthusiastic than he had when he'd left.

"What's the matter?" Rose asked, sitting up.

He screwed up his face and leaned against her wall. "Seems life as a human is going to be _very _interesting. I can't remember how to fly the TARDIS, and your mother is sleeping in a spare room at the other end of the hall."

"What?" Rose cried, getting all the way out of bed.

"I know!" he said, crossing his arms. "Who invited _her_? I hope she doesn't think this means she can move in here with us."

"Why can't you fly the TARDIS?" she asked.

He shrugged casually, but she could see the tightness in his eyes. "Probably just partial amnesia as a result of the biological rewriting process. Should come back eventually. That changes my plans considerably, but we'll make do."

"What plans?"

"Well," he began, scratching the back of his head. "I wanted to take you somewhere prettier than the alley behind the Powell Estate. Is there a park around here? Somewhere picturesque?"

"In this part of London?" Rose asked with a laugh. "I don't think so."

He nodded, eyeing her. "All right, then. Come with me, Rose Tyler." He offered her his arm and she took it, letting him lead her into the bowels of the ship until they came to a hallway she had never seen before.

He looked behind them. "Hope I remember the way back," he said with a nervous chuckle, then led her on down the hallway and into a huge room that was white from floor to ceiling except for a tiny computer on a kiosk in the middle of the room. He grinned at her and went to the kiosk and began typing furiously, scowling at the little screen. After a while the kiosk descended into the floor and he ran back to grab her by the hand.

"Watch this," he whispered, nudging her. He giggled, looking around the room with anticipation. A moment later Rose saw little lights beginning to flicker up near the ceiling. She watched as a glittering cascade of particles began to shower down along the walls. Wherever the particles went turned from blank white to sky and trees and plants and terrain until the particles made their way to the floor, spreading beneat them and Rose felt actual grass under her feet. When the particles reached the kiosk, she could smell the apple grass and feel the warmth of the double suns overhead.

"It's New Earth!" Rose cried, spinning around with her arms out wide. "How did you do that?"

"Superlative hologram generator," the Doctor answered. "Drains the TARDIS power in huge gulps, but it's so worth it right now."

"What are we doing?" Rose asked. The Doctor offered her his hand and she took it. He led her to a spot by the edge of the hologram river and she was surprised to find that she could sit on the hologram rocks.

"Just about perfect," he said, looking around. "Only better thing would have been the actual planet, but as I can't remember how to pilot my ship right now, this will do nicely. Shift." She scooted over on the rock so he could sit beside her. They took in the artificial surroundings for a while, holding hands, Rose resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm at quite a loss," he said after some time. "I know how to do everything, but when it comes to an everyday existence, I don't know how to do anything. I haven't the faintest idea about an actual job, or paying the rent on time, or knowing when to change the water in the goldfish bowl, or any of that. It's kind of an exciting proposition, when you think of it. Nine hundred years old and I've never done a load of laundry. But I'm not the least bit afraid of it. Know why?"

Rose narrowed her eyes, smiling. "Because I'm gonna end up doing all the laundry?" she asked.

"Well," he said, looking away. "I wasn't going to suggest it, but as long as you have."

She laughed and slapped him on the arm. "I never said that."

"You never said you'd marry me, either," he said, locking eyes with her, suddenly quite serious.

Rose nearly fell backwards off the imaginary rock. "What?"

He frowned. "Ever since I turned human, which admittedly wasn't that long ago, you have this thing for asking me to repeat myself. What is that about, anyway?"

"Just this one last thing, please," Rose said. "If you could just repeat what you just said."

"Hold on," he said, digging into his pocket. Rose's heart skipped a beat until she saw he was pulling out the sonic screwdriver. He pointed it at the ceiling and day suddenly turned to a gorgeous, moonlit twilight, complete with the gentle chirring of crickets in the distance. He looked around and nodded his satisfaction. "Much better. That's what was missing." He hopped off the rock, put the sonic in his pocket and knelt in the apple grass, taking hold of her hands. She started to cry.

"On Gallifrey, we had all sorts of courtship rituals; genetic compatibility matrices, endurance challenges, traversing the Wastes together with one pouch of water and a single pillow. I like Earth's way much better. Far more direct." He reached into his other pocket and pulled out the velvet box. Rose's eyes widened and her hands began to shake. "I can't live another day as a human not knowing if you'll be there with me for the rest of our lives. So, Rose Marion Tyler, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" She cried, jumping off the rock that wasn't there to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him hard on the lips. They fell back into the apple grass, laughing and kissing each other until the fake moon began to flicker and he had to shut off the hologram. Then, they went on kissing for quite a while longer.


End file.
